The European sporting goods industry is calling on the EU and its member states to provide “swift and bold” liquidity support to its sector to help soften the impact from the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
The sporting goods industry, which employs around 700,000 people in Europe, is among the economic sectors severely affected by the current crisis.
According to the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI), 80% of companies in France have already recorded a drop in turnover of nearly 14%. There have also been major difficulties in forecasting supply, cash flow, rent and short time working for employees in the sector. Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs), which represent nearly 75% of FESI’s members, are among the most severely affected, it says.
Consequently, the FESI is calling on the EU and member states to provide liquidity support for firms facing severe disruption and liquidity shortages, especially SMEs, and implement measures including tax and duty deferrals, rent postponements and concessions, public guarantees to help companies to borrow, export guarantees and waiving of delay penalties in public procurement contracts.
“FESI strongly welcomes the recent EU economic policy responses adopted by the European institutions,” it says.
The so-called ‘Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative’ proposed by the European Commission will make available EUR37bn (US$40.3bn) of cohesion funds to member states to address the consequences of the crisis.
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By GlobalDataAbout EUR8bn of investment liquidity will be released from unspent pre-financing in 2019 for programmes under the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.
The measure will also provide access to EUR29bn of structural funding across the EU for 2020. Expenditure on crisis response is available now.
The new measures will support SMEs to alleviate serious liquidity shortages as a result of the pandemic. Member states will also have greater flexibility to transfer funds between programmes to help those most adversely affected.
